


The Persistence of Memory

by DreamOfFlying



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Artist AU, Definitely Angst I Lied, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/F, Modern AU, Probably Some Light Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 18:49:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6090643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamOfFlying/pseuds/DreamOfFlying
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lexa is a classically trained artist, and Clarke is a freeflowing painter. Sparks fly as they're thrown together for a university art class.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was only her first day at university, and Lexa was already annoyed. She was annoyed about having to take Art 101, the class that promised to teach students how to ‘draw with passion!’ and ‘unlock your inner artist!’ but was also mandatory for all art majors. She had been taking lessons for over fifteen years, and yet the head of the department refused to let her move on to the higher level classes. She had won awards and had her own exhibition already, but ‘ensuring everyone enters the major with the same skill set’ was more important than her being bored out of her skull. 

She was annoyed about having most of her possessions delayed because the post office had mixed up the address of her new dorm, and had sent her art supplies and most of her clothing to Nebraska. She was annoyed by her new roommate whose stuff had taken up over half of the room already even though the girl herself was nowhere to be seen. The alarm she had set on her phone to ensure that she was up early for her first class hadn’t gone off because her phone had died, and then coffee she had grabbed from the dining hall on her way to the art building had been weak and acidic. 

Entering the stuffy and overly crowded classroom, she discovered that due to her tardiness there were only two empty seats: one in the front of the room and one three-legged broken chair in the back corner. She huffed and elbowed her way up to the front. She sat, growing ever more irritated with the crowd of cheerfully chattering students around her. Straightening so she perched ramrod straight on the short stool, she willfully ignored everyone and looked only at the prints of famous paintings pinned to the wall.

Wisps of blonde hair moved across the plastic-laminated Picasso in the left corner of her eye, and she felt warmth settling against her left arm and shoulder. She started when a husky voice spoke far too closely to her ear “Hey.”

Unsure whether to jump backwards, lean into the warmth that voice promised, or slap her out of sheer annoyance, Lexa stiffly turned her neck and was immediately met with the impression that an angel had climbed out of a nineteenth century painting and was waiting for her. There was no way any person could have eyes so blue or such creamy skin or hair that gleamed and flowed like windswept wheat. Lexa was fairly certain her mouth was hanging open because oh god she was like three inches away and looking right into her soul.

“Sorry but I was saving that chair for my friend.”

Lexa was pretty sure the girl had said something but her brain took too long processing it and a flash of annoyance rippled through those clear blue eyes. “Hey, I said I was saving that chair for my friend.” 

Lexa pulled herself together enough to remember that she shouldn’t have to be taking this class, that she was better than sitting elbow to elbow with slackers looking for an easy A, and mustered “Well they should have been on time then.” 

The girl withdrew out of her personal space and for the first time in what felt like a week she could breathe. The blonde crossed her arms and was definitely thoroughly annoyed now. She was opening her mouth to probably tell Lexa off when the frazzled professor arrived, carrying a stack of paper and breathless. “Okay so we have overbooked this class –again –like every year –so unless you are actually registered or are an aspiring art major, please leave and sign up again next semester.” 

A symphony of groaning and scraping chairs met her words and within a few minutes the room was two-thirds empty. Lexa was interested to see that the blonde halo was still there and idly wondered if she was a fellow artist or just got to registration earlier than most. Lexa, of course, had been twenty minutes early to sign up and had planned her courses out for the next two years. It didn’t really matter, and Lexa tried to quash the vague hope floating through her mind that she would get to know her better or even be her friend somehow. That was stupid.

The professor patted her hair and put the paper down. “Okay now that that’s all sorted out, welcome to Studio Art 101! We’re going to jump right in and see what all you budding young minds can come up with. The only way you’ll be graded this semester is how you improve, so don’t worry if you think you’re ‘good’ at art! Everyone grab a piece of paper and –oh I don’t have pencils –do you all have pencils? Oh good, everyone get a pen or pencil and take a seat at one of the tables and draw the various items on the table. We’ll put the drawings up in an hour!”

Of course it was a still life. Lexa rose and pulled her bag onto her shoulder, glancing around to find a spot with good lighting. The door at the back of the room crashed open, and a slightly panting brunette stood dramatically in the doorway. The professor looked taken aback, and there was silence. The moment was broken by a loud “O!” and the blonde jumped up to hug the newcomer. 

Lexa turned her back and stalked over to a table with a vase, apple, and piece of driftwood sitting on it. She delicately set out her pencils and eraser and determinedly ignored the chaos and confusion happening around the doorway. Setting the crisp paper so it was completely straight and aligned with the edge of the table, she gazed at the detritus before her. 

This was the part she loved: finding the shapes and the heart, the soul, of whatever she was creating. Everything could be broken down into clean and pure lines and shapes. She felt like the universe was singing to her when she broke down the world and rebuilt it with shadows and textures and adding how the light hit that part there. Within half an hour she was done, and bored. Looking around at the shaky outlines and scribbled messes on the papers around her, she felt a smirk forming on her mouth. There was no way she’d have to stay in this class now, absolutely no one was on her level. 

Not wanting to look like she was slacking on her first day, she picked up another sheet of paper and returned to her seat. This time she angled it a precise thirty degrees and let her grip loosen, pulling forms out of shadows and become the objects that cast them. This was more of what she usually did as a warm-up before a major piece, but she had spare time and she liked this technique more than most. 

She completed that one too and looked up to find about half of the class had finished and put their work on the wall. She picked up her first piece and practically sashayed over to place it proudly in the middle. She knew she was being arrogant, but she felt that she deserved it. With another fifteen minutes before the hour deadline was over, she left the room to go pick up a coffee from the small café in the lobby of the building. 

This café was definitely better than the dining hall, and she made a mental note of it. He field trip had made her slightly late again and so she sat quietly at the back of the small group that was now crowded around the front wall and all the sketches on it. The professor was going through them, and always managed to say something positive about even the clumsiest scrawl. Arriving at Lexa’s, her face lit up and she cooed over the shading, the form, the details- Lexa felt her smirk growing again. The professor asked who had drawn it, so Lexa raised her hand and gave her name. “Very well done, you’ve clearly had some training –if you need help, class, talk to miss, uh, Lexa, talk to her.” 

Lexa doubted that any of her classmates would get the chance to ask her advice as she would clearly soon be placed out of the class. The professor turned around again, singling out another drawing. “Oh and whoever did this –this is very good, very good, it shows such passion, such animation! They’re another one to talk to –who did this?”

To Lexa, the drawing looked muddled, confused, nothing looked like it should. She wondered if either the professor or the artist was on drugs because the toy fire engine and potted plant depicted looked like they were melting. 

“I did.” The husky voice was back, and Lexa practically gave herself whiplash craning her head to the left to see if the beautiful blonde was really the creator of this awful thing. 

“Clarke.” Her name was Clarke. Her name was Clarke, she drew things skewed and melting and weird, and the professor loved it. Lexa hated it. Lexa hated her. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clarke was so excited for her first art class in university. She hadn’t had classes outside of the two her high school offered, but she had drawn as often as she could for years. Her mother had wanted her to go into premed, and they’d had several screaming arguments ending with tears until Jake could talk them down. One day Abby had climbed the stairs up to the small attic where Clarke slept to leave an application to yet another medical program on the bed, but had been lost for words when she saw the small space covered in sketches and paintings. Clarke came home to find her mother almost in tears gazing at the small canvas with a hazy moonlit forest and glowing butterflies that now hung in the living room. After that, she had wholehearted support from bother her parents. With her portfolio and worked-over essay, she had gotten into her top choice of school and was now here, in her first class. 

One of her friends from a summer camp she had gone years ago was also going to be attending the university. The night before Clarke had Skyped her and found out that Octavia had also signed up for Art 101, though O complained about having a class that was before noon. Clarke promised to buy her coffee if she showed up no more than ten minutes late, and the girls had laughed into the night. 

Despite hating waking at any hour before 11 am, Clarke found herself sitting at the front of the classroom with time to spare. She balanced her coffee on her knee and nervously tapped her pencil on her chair. She didn’t really have a reason to be nervous except that this was her first real art class and she hoped the professor didn’t hate her or her style. After watching the second hand tick on the wall clock for far too long, she placed her pencil on the chair next to her, pulled out her phone and started playing one of the many puzzle games she was addicted to. After beating the next level, she made sure the seat next to her was clear and that everyone knew it was being saved, and hoped O would show up on time. There was still time before class started so she switched to Sudoku.

Giving up (why had she tried anything with numbers in the morning), she noticed the seat next to her was occupied by someone other than Octavia. She tried to get the girl’s attention. Her gaze was fixed on the prints pinned along the top of the wall. Leaning in, she tapped the girl on the shoulder “Hey.”

Grey-green eyes snapped towards her, and Clarke thought that if this girl had any more tension in her life, she would break. Her entire body was rigid and every line shouted ‘don’t touch me.’ Her blouse looked like it had been ironed that morning and Clarke had to wonder about the sort of person who ironed their shirt for a morning art class. “Sorry but I was saving that chair for my friend.”

The girl didn’t budge. Her icy stare was hard and Clarke felt an itch in her palms to slap her or draw her or something else entirely, she couldn’t tell. This whole not-responding thing was definitely rude though “Hey, I said I was saving that chair for my friend.” 

The words were cold and clipped: “Well they should have been on time then.” 

Clarke sat back and fumed as the professor came in, cleared out the room, and talked about the assignment. What a bitch. 

Just as Clarke was sure her morning was ruined, Octavia burst into the room, clearly having just run there. Clarke surged up to wrap her friend in a hug and they both started talking a mile a minute. Noticing the professor was floundering in the chaos Octavia tended to create, Clarke dragged O to a table. 

The girls chatted and caught up as they drew the strange assortment of objects. “I’m telling you Clarke, I nearly caught him and killed him. Also I don’t know why I’m even taking this class you’re gonna like blow me out of the water.”

Clarke shook her head and nudged Octavia with her shoulder “Listen O, we can’t all be extremely talented. Plus the teacher said it’s all about improvement.” They looked at the awkward thing Octavia had drawn, which vaguely resembled a distressed rectangular hippo instead of a fire truck “….so it’s a good thing you can’t get any worse right?”

The girls burst into laughter and the professor scurried over to shush them. Clarke was happy and excited again, and put all the joy she was feeling into her work. She always put her feelings into what she was doing, along with her hopes and reams. Everything was personal and vivid for her, and it was hard for her to give her art away unless it was made specifically for that person. 

The time passed quickly, and they both ended up rushing to finish the last few details before the hour ended. As soon as they dragged chairs over and had to stop talking, Clarke felt the early morning catch up to her and wished she had another coffee. She let her mind wander as the teacher looked over the drawings.

The professor was exclaiming over which one was boring as hell but better than the halfhearted sketches on the wall. Clarke was more focused on poking Octavia in the thigh with her pencil than listening until the soft voice from before spoke suddenly: “Lexa.”

Immediately Clarke was caught up in curiosity. Was Lexa short for something like Alexandra? Why use a short name, the uptight girl seemed like the type to be extremely formal even at a nightclub or whatever. She loved it, she loved the way the ‘l’ rolled and the ‘x’ caught. It made her think of marble and lush velvets –or maybe that was because of the girl’s regal air, the way she carried herself and gazed down at the world. 

Caught up in her own thoughts, she missed that the professor had asked her name until Octavia jabbed her hard in the ribs. The professor complimented her energy and style, and basically told the rest of the class to look up to her, which made Clarke a bit uneasy but also proud of her years of effort. As the teacher went on trying to encourage everyone to try their hardest and not compare themselves to others, Clarke felt a pair of grey-green eyes staring at the side of her head. She desperately wanted to turn and glare, to challenge whatever had warranted this bitch treatment from someone she didn’t even know, but she forced herself to ignore it. Lexa was not going to ruin this class for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Lexa practically stomped into the lecture hall, threw her bag on a chair, and slammed into the seat next to it. The damned department head still refused to let her out of the intro class. She knew, she just KNEW, it was going to be the class she hated the most this year. She tried to take ‘deep soothing breaths’ as her (former) therapist had told her to do whenever her temper broke. They weren’t enough, judging from the strangled yelp of the mousy girl who had tried to edge past her into the row and had unwittingly made eye contact with Lexa. The girl fled to a seat farther back. 

This was art history, another class where Lexa was going to know everything already. The professor was late, again. Getting her notebook out, she spotted a gleam of gold two rows ahead of her. Of course. It was the weird abstract girl, Clarke. She must also be an art major, and Lexa felt a burst of annoyance. Wasn’t one class with her enough? Was she going to torture Lexa for years with her stupid hair and her stupid melty drawings and her stupid smirk? 

Lexa redirected her attention to the lecture slide the now-present professor had put up. This girl was not going to ruin art for her. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clarke stood in line for the café with Octavia, enjoying the scent of freshly brewed coffee and perfectly content with the world. Despite the slight setbacks in her earlier class, she was here doing the things she loved with people she loved. This thought lead her to sling an arm around O’s shoulders and plant a big sloppy kiss on the girl’s cheek, interrupting her never-ending stream of complaints about her brother. 

Octavia wrinkled her nose and mock-disgustedly wiped her face with her sleeve. “Damn Clarke, I know I’m fine but try to control yourself in public please. There are people around who couldn’t handle the glory of us making out.”

Clarke smirked and pulled the other girl in closer so she could purr into her ear “After this how about you and I go find a quiet place just you and I…..to eat together.”   
O rolled her eyes. “Clarke I know you love eating and you know I love eating but that’s starting to get creepy. It was fine when you were just like texting me sexy food emojis but in person that’s way more intense.” Her grin turned predatory “I like it.”  
They held the position for a moment longer before a laugh rumbled its way up Clarke’s chest and both ended up hugging and giggling.

Neither noticed Lexa stalking past, viciously ignoring their antics and trying not to stare.

Noticing they were next in line, Clarke elbowed Octavia and they pulled themselves together to order from the exhausted looking barista. After paying and grabbing their drinks, they sat down at a table. 

“Okay so I’ve got class in like ten minutes but it’s still in this building. I was serious, we should have lunch together, O.” 

The brunette nodded, pulling her phone out to check her schedule “Yeah that sounds great! I just gottaaaaaaaaaaa shit my next class starts in two minutes and is like super far away, I’ll text you bye!” And she was gone.

Clarke sighed a little, settling back into her chair. It was great seeing Octavia after so much time, but a moment of quiet was welcome. She closed her eyes and focused on the warmth from the sunlight filtering in and from the cup between her hands. Green eyes flashed in her mind, and she shook her head. Why did that girl Lexa have to ruin her morning when she wasn’t even there. 

Heaving her overloaded bag up, she drained her coffee and headed to the lecture hall. It was nice having all her classes in one building, but having all her classes with the same people would be interesting. It would be a quick way to make friends, and enemies she amended as the glare resurfaced in her mind. She pushed the thought away. She was determined to have a positive outlook, no matter how other people wanted to behave. 

She picked a seat a few rows in, next to a redheaded girl. “Is this taken?” The girl looked up and smiled. “No, go ahead!” Clarke settled her things, and then held out her hand “Hi I’m Clarke, I’m a freshman and I’m going to be an art major.” The redhead smiled and shook it “Hi I’m Fox! I’m just taking this for fun, I want to do environmental science I think.” The two chatted for a minute about the dining hall food, the dorms, and Clarke was glad to talk to someone so nice, if a bit shy.

The professor walked in, and started handing out the syllabus. Passing the sheets to the next person a few seats away, Clarke caught the mirky green glare being directed at her from a few rows away. Glancing over, she saw Lexa fixed on the screen at the front of the room. Whatever, Clarke wasn’t going to waste her time with the strange and hostile girl. She settled back in and immersed herself in the topic ‘how do we define art.’ 

As the lights came back on and people started filtering out, Clarke opened her phone to find 18 texts from Octavia, who had apparently walked into the wrong classroom twice. They agreed to meet up in a dining hall in the center of campus, close to the bookstore so they could go pick up their textbooks afterwards. 

Waiting in line, Clarke stood on her toes and craned her head to search for her friend. She wasn’t expecting O to be there yet, since she seemed to always be late, and she only discovered the stiff back and tightly pinned up hair of that girl, Lexa. Clarke immediately dropped back down, not wanting to attract that damned glare again. 

Octavia tapped her on the shoulder, arriving slightly breathless as usual, and Clarke pushed Lexa out of her mind. Octavia was full of stories about her Political Activism class (her brother Bellamy thought it was a load of crap so of course she signed up for it) and the cute TA who had smiled at her. They picked up their trays and food, and sat at a small table in the corner. 

Octavia straightened and pointed with her piece of garlic bread “Wait is that the girl you were talking about earlier, the cold bitch?” Clarke half twisted, in time to see Lexa quickly turning in the opposite direction and walking away.

“O, you can’t just point at people when you’re talking about them. Or shout that they’re bitches, even if they are.” 

“Why not? She’s gotta know she’s a class-A jerk, she was glaring at you the entire damn class for no reason!” 

“Yeah well……I don’t wanna talk about her, okay? Tell me about your plan to seduce your TA.”

Octavia looked at her with a mix of confusion and concern. “Clarke usually you love knocking deserving assholes down a peg, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just don’t want to think about it on the first day okay.”

O shrugged “Sure, whatever. Okay so first I’m going to ask him for help on the homework, then strategically spill coffee on him so he has to strip……”

Clarke tried to ignore the pang in her chest from the glimpse of misery that had flashed through those stormy ocean eyes as Lexa left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lexa practically ran back to her room. She had seen those two sniggering in the corner, and overheard snippets of their conversation. So she was a bitch? She had been called worse, though for some reason a tiny part of her hurt because it had come from Clarke’s mouth. Whatever, she didn’t care what random some people thought of her. She would hold herself together and hold her head high, just like always. Unlocking the door, she didn’t realize her missing roommate was present until she was practically hip-checked into a dresser.

“Heeeeey sorry about that I totally didn’t see you and this damn bolt won’t tighten. I’m Raven.” The Latina was holding out one had for Lexa to shake, a wrench in the other. A strange mechanical-looking thing stood behind her. 

Lexa ignored the hand and huffed “Are you actually working on that here? Isn’t there a workshop or a garage you could do that in?” The girl withdrew her hand and set it on her hip.

“Well good morning to you miss-stick-up-your-ass, this is my homework. Don’t you have any stuff or is a stuck-up attitude all you need?” Raven pointed to the bare mattress and empty desk.

Lexa felt a flush creeping up her neck. She had never in her life met anyone so rude. Ignoring the jibes, she answered through gritted teeth “Everything is in Nebraska.” 

Raven looked surprised for a split second then bellowed with laughter. “Oh man, no wonder you’re all cranky! Did you like sleep without a pillow or anything? Do you even have a second pair of panties? Oh that sucks!”

The red swept over her face, and she became acutely aware of the aching pain along one side of her neck and shoulders from sleeping in a strange position. The sudden switch to empathy had caught her off-guard. Anya would yell right back at her no matter what the situation, and held grudges like nobody’s business. 

Raven set the wrench down and limped over to her own dresser. Lexa abruptly noticed the complex metal brace wrapped around her left calf. She was wondering if she should ask what happened or be polite and ignore it (after all, Raven’s rudeness wouldn’t excuse her own behavior) when a pair of a pair of black underwear landed on her face and slid to the floor.

Ignoring the horrified look on Lexa’s face, Raven cheerfully said “Don’t worry, they’re clean! We’re roomies now, we’re going to share everything eventually so I figure we might as well start now. You can start returning the favor by sharing your name, cause otherwise I’m gonna call you miss-stick-up-your-ass for the rest of the year.” 

Lexa was entirely certain she should have never left Connecticut. No one in their right mind would greet someone by throwing panties at them. She moved to set her bag down at her desk, hoping nothing else would come flying at her. This day was getting worse and worse. She took a deep breath and straightened her spine. She was intelligent, she was in control, and no one could take that away from her. This was the school she wanted to be at, that would springboard her to doing great things. She just had to put up with the side effects, like roommates. 

She turned back around “I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot, Raven, my name is Lexa. Since we’re going be living together it would be best if we reached some sort of agreement about room rules. Please confine your things to your half of the room. Guests are fine but tell me ahead of time, and have them out of the room by eleven pm. I am here to work and study, so those are the priority for me. Do you have anything to add?” She waited, chin held high. 

Raven stared. “Girl, you need to loosen up a few bolts. Do you always speak like you’re giving a political speech? Did I actually throw the wrench at you and hit you or something? Oh my god, do you have a concussion? Oh my god I gave my roommate a concussion on the first day. Shit.” Lexa halted the tirade with a single raised hand.

“I am fine, Raven. You merely threw……underclothes at me. Do we agree?”

“Yeah sure. I can tell you’re gonna be a fun one. You should pick those up by the way, those were for you. I can also lend you sheets.”

Lexa uttered a quiet thanks and busied herself arranging her sketchpad and notebooks on her sparse desk. She heard the other girl sigh, and buried herself in her readings until supper time.

Anya texted her at dinner, and Lexa was glad to have an excuse to leave, since she was sitting alone watching Clarke chat with Raven and that other girl. Something acidic rose under her breastbone and Lexa pushed it away, like always. She didn’t want to try to make any friends here, especially if people hated her already. She didn’t need anyone else, anyways. 

She settled down in her quiet room and pulled up the video chat link Anya had sent. 

“Hey there champ! How do you like your first day of university?” Lexa scowled and leaned back in her chair. “That good huh? You make any new friends yet?”

“No.” Lexa wished her sister didn’t always cut right to what was bothering her. Anya’s expression softened slightly.

“Look I know it’s gonna be hard for a little while, but I promise you you’ll eventually find other people you can trust. You’re in a whole new place with new people, and some of them might even share your weird obsession with art.”

Lexa nodded, refusing to look at the screen. Anya sighed. “So how are classes?” Glad for a change of topic, Lexa ranted about the stupid introductory classes and simplistic exercises they made her do and how this ONE girl was in almost all of her classes but was personally tormenting her.

Anya chuckled “Sounds like you need to work out some of that stress, squirt. Go for a run or find some other way of working it out with that girl.” She winked suggestively. Lexa merely raised an eyebrow.

“I resent whatever implication you’re making Anya.” Lexa informed her severely. Anya merely redoubled her laughter. “Listen kid whenever you’ve gotten this worked up about anyone, you’ve either had a massive crush on them or punched them in the face.”

Lexa crossed her arms and stuck her chin out “That was one time, and I was in third grade. He deserved it, he was threatening my people. And don’t call me kid or squirt.”

Anya whooped “’my people’ that’s right kiddo I totally forgot you played Grounders on the playground, oh my god what was your title again? Captain?”

“Commander.” Lexa was certain her older sister was enjoying this way too much and was starting to think agreeing to this call had been a mistake. 

“Commander! Oh yes, with your warpaint and braids—“

“Listen I’m going to go for a run as you so pertinently proposed, and I am going to leave now before the sun goes down. I will speak with you soon Anya, and I suggest that if you ever want me to make your favorite food again, you never call me kiddo for the rest of your life.”

“Sure thing, baby bear. Have fun, ogle some sporty girls!” Lexa sighed as her sister waved cheerfully and hung up cackling before Lexa could respond. She rubbed the ache growing behind her forehead. Anya was always there for her, and loved Lexa fiercely but she was still an older sibling and teased her mercilessly whenever she could. Lexa knew it was because Anya thought she took everything too seriously, but sometimes it could be a bit much. 

She closed her laptop and grabbed her running shoes. At least Anya had had one helpful thought. Running always made her feel stronger and more able to tolerate whatever stress she was dealing with. She thought more clearly when she ran, especially on trails through the woods. There was something about her feet and heart pounding through the wilderness that made her feel more alive.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After dinner, Clarke suggested they take a walk to enjoy the last rays of the afternoon sunlight and explore their new campus. Octavia had groaned until Clarke pointed out that she had eaten three helpings of dessert, then reluctantly agreed to a short stroll. 

They rambled around the outskirts of the university, losing track of time as dusk settled around them. It wasn’t until the streetlights came on that Clarke realized they had walked farther than they meant to, and were on a street bordered by forest on one side and houses on the other. 

“Oh my god Clarke, you said this was going to be “like ten minutes” now look it’s fucking dark and we’re next to a bunch of creepy-ass trees where axe murders live.” 

Clarke sighed “Okay listen I’m sure axe murderers don’t live across the street from this nice neighborhood, but if it makes you feel better we can walk back on that side.”

Octavia immediately stopped and glared at her “Are you saying I couldn’t take an axe murderer? Cause I will, I’ll kick his ass.”

“I’m sure you would O, but that side is better lit anyways and it’s dark. C’mon, I’ll buy you pizza when we get back.”

The short brunette considered the offer with narrowed eyes for a few seconds then nodded firmly. “Done. We’ll walk back on the other side because your pansy ass is scared, and you’re buying me a Hawaiian.”

“Ew, pineapple on pizza is gross!”

“Whatever Clarke, you like dipping yours in ranch so you have no right to talk.”

“Listen—“ the conversation halted as both girls became aware of footsteps running across the street, near the shadowy woods. A figure moved, and Clarke felt the thrill of adrenaline course through her veins. As it darted through one of the pools of light cast by the lamps, she recognized it and her mouth ran dry. 

Octavia broke the silence “Okay I know she’s been awful and is a stone cold bitch but damn she’s hot.” 

Clarke couldn’t help but agree silently as Lexa loped gracefully back into the darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in a while so hmu! Also hmu if you want to know about any of the images I have in mind while writing this. I have a very busy schedule but I love this concept so I'm hoping to update fairly frequently.


End file.
